


The Queen is Dead

by Oighear



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Astelle is you squint, But It's Not That Dark, Character Death, I Don't Know How To Rate This Fic, I can't most of the time, I do love cliff-hangers, I don't have a degree in international relations, Joking whenever I can, Noelle-Centric, Non-Canonical Character Death, Will include a Petit Clover because the author needs the light heartedness, i think, tw blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:02:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27683276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oighear/pseuds/Oighear
Summary: Canon divergence where Loropechka dies during the fight with Vanica and a diplomatic mess follows. Noelle-centric.
Comments: 61
Kudos: 40





	1. Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, welcome, it's a pleasure to see you here.  
> I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and more :)

_ Shit. It’s not looking good.  _

Noelle is struggling on the ground, Loropechka’s innate body in her blurry sight. 

They are losing. Vanica isn’t even attacking anymore; she can’t be bothered with it. It isn’t looking good at all. 

Noelle’s valkyrie dress vanishes, splashing water all around her. She tries to gather her spirits, her heart is pounding in her chest, fear rising up, ringing in her ears. It isn’t over.  _ Just one more spell. One last Sea Dragon… _

“I just remembered…” Vanica says suddenly. “I fought a girl with armor like Noelle-chan’s before. I think it was Acier-chan? Man, it was fun!”

Noelle tries to get on her feet, but her knees give way. She struggles to look up, only to see Vanica’s mad gaze upon her. She’s too close for comfort and it seems as if she’s gauging her, waiting for a confirmation, waiting for her to say something. 

“And she became so much stronger after we took some children hostage too… She said she’d never forgive us if we hurt these kids, that she’ll look all over the world for us so she could make us pay…” 

Does she think she’s done? She’s not done yet… she’s not done yet! Noelle tries to gather her mana, every last bit of it. One last spell. Just one. She has to stall her… 

“Ah! Hey Megicula, what do you think? Noelle will get stronger too, right?”

Noelle tries once more, pushing hard on her elbows to get up, wincing at the pain. What would happen to Loropechka?  _ Do not think about it. You just have to stall Vanica. _ Nero will be back with reinforcements soon. Soon, Loropechka will come to. They’ll fight her once more. Plan A didn’t work. They don’t have a plan B but surely, they can find a way… they’ll fight. The three of them, together. It isn’t over. It isn’t over yet. 

“I don’t get it, but she’s your precious friend, right? You’ll avenge her, right? Right?”

Noelle’s heart skips a beat. 

_ Avenge…? _

Vanica grips Loropechka’s hair and effortlessly picks her up from the ground. She gives the Queen one disappointed look before she sighs. Noelle’s anger peaks, but all she can do is crawl on the ground. Trembling. With fear, with rage. 

“Yep, this one’s done for. Let’s see if you can entertain me better, Noelle-chan!”

Then it happens. There’s a red slash, a spurt of red as Vanica slits the Queen’s throat, and everything around her goes red. Red on Vanica’s face. Red on Loropechka’s face. Red on the ground. They keep getting larger and larger. The red puddles.

Noelle’s mind goes blank.  _ What has just…  _ she lifts her trembling hand to her face. Looks at her fingers.  _ Blood _ .  _ Not mine.  _ Shaking, Noelle looks up, slowly, as if she needed to delay the realization.

Loropechka is not moving.

_ No… no no no…  _

“Welp, that should take care of Heart’s Wisdom.”

Vanica opens her fist and the Queen falls abruptly on the bloodied floor. Something cracks. Bones.

Noelle crawls towards her. The world is spinning, she can barely see straight but she keeps on moving.

“See ya’ in Spade, Noelle-chan! Get stronger!”

“VANICA!!”

Noelle woke up in a start. Her whole body was rigid with terror.  _ I can’t move. I can’t breathe. _

At last, her limbs relaxed enough for her to sit up. She was still panting, but sitting made the pain slightly better and allowed for easier breathing. She forced her eyes to stay open despite the overwhelming light around her and the dizziness, fearing that her nightmare’s images would come back to haunt her. 

She was used to nightmares. She didn’t have the easiest childhood, and she remembered vividly having night terrors when she was 7 or 8. She’d gotten over it eventually when she finally realized none of the visions she had were real. All she had to do was tell herself that it was a dream. That she’d be fine. That it wasn’t real. 

_ It was just a dream _ , she told herself. 

Except this time, it wasn’t. Tears prickled her eyes. This time it wasn’t a dream. She buried her face in her hands and the bandages pressed roughly against her skin. It was real. Loropechka was dead. She had heard them say it.  _ The Queen has died.  _

It was very much real. Loropechka was too strong to die. She couldn’t die. But Noelle knew. She didn’t need the confirmation. She may not have been fully conscious when they said it and she for sure would’ve doubted them. She saw it firsthand. Vanica Zogratis slitting her throat and leaving her innate body behind, bathing in blood. 

_ Loropechka is dead.  _

Noelle was wailing as tears were streaming down her face. Her whole body was aching. Her heart was broken into a million pieces. She was alone. Her friend had died. She had died because she wasn’t strong enough. She let it happen. She had been useless, powerless. She had failed her. And it  _ hurt _ . 

Crying wouldn’t change a thing. It wouldn’t bring her back… She needed to calm down. She needed to assess the situation... where… where was she anyway?

It looked like a hospital room. Noelle could hear birds chirping out the window and warm sunbeams entered the room between the curtains. It was a beautiful day…

Noelle tried to get her thoughts on track. A beautiful day, who cares? What had happened? Her memories were fuzzy, her mind was all over the place and that throbbing headache wasn’t helping her remembering _ at all _ . The battle… the others… they had been fighting too! Luck, Leopold, Charmy, Mimosa, Nero? Where were they all?

Panic rose in her. Loropechka’s dead body flashed. The blood. So much blood. She needed to find them. Were they ok? They’d been fighting too? The Dark Disciples… 

She attempted to leave the bed. But as soon as her feet connected with the floor, she crumbled, her head hit against something hard, and she found herself looking under her hospital bed. She was dizzy, nauseous, exhausted, hurt. But most of all, she was worried sick. Not knowing… not knowing was killing her. But she couldn’t move. Her limbs barely answered her commands and she felt too weak to even try to get up. She closed her eyes. She’d sleep for a while… 

She didn’t get this chance. The noise probably alerted someone because Noelle heard the door open and hurried footsteps followed. 

“Noelle!”

_ Mimosa.  _ Noelle’s heart tightened in her chest and she felt like crying again. She’d never been this happy to hear her cousin’s voice. 

“Can you help me up?”

She was shocked at how much uttering these words drained her. Her voice was so faint she was scared Mimosa hadn’t heard her. But she felt hands supporting her as she struggled to get on her feet. Noelle tried not to rely on her cousin too much, but it became clear soon enough that she didn’t have this luxury. 

“How do you feel?” Mimosa asked

_ Scared. Weak. I’m in so much pain I’d rather knock myself out than being conscious right now.  _ But she stayed silent. Getting back on the bed was taking every bit of her strength. 

“It looks like at least your fever broke… I’m sorry” her cousin continued. “There’s only so much I can fix… the Heart Kingdom’s healers were a great help but…”

Noelle laid down again and breathed out slowly. Mimosa gave her a glass of water. She was so thirsty. She hadn’t even realized _.  _ The infirmary was spinning a bit less, but it was still not optimal so she closed her eyes. 

“The others?”

“Their wounds were nothing too alarming,” Mimosa says gently. “They’re fine. They were here this morning, waiting for you to come to, but it’s lunch time and you know them…”

Noelle tried not to picture food. In her nauseous state, she felt it could only lead to disaster. 

“What happened?”

There was a silence. Even with her eyes closed, Noelle could guess something was off, so she forced them open. Her cousin was avoiding her gaze, fixing her joined hands on her lap. She was fiddling with a piece of clothing Noelle recognized to be part of her Golden Dawn robe. 

“The Dark Disciples they… they vanished. Suddenly. We understood that something was wrong. That’s when Nero… Nero came to get us. We rushed at the scene and we found you, out cold, and… we found Loropechka.”

A beat.

“Noelle, she’s… she’s dead.”

She knew it. But Mimosa breaking it to her made the news so much more real. Blood rushed to Noelle’s ears and she felt hot. Her cousin went on, explaining how healers arrived, her injuries, how they tended to her wounds and dressed them. She talked about Leopold, Luck, Charmy, how they dealt with their own foes. She went on, describing a night that sounded like hell. She mentioned the Spirit Guardians, a council. The Heart Kingdom citizens being safe. The lack of civilian casualties. Noelle heard only half of it. Loropechka was dead. And she was alive. She felt like a fraud. That was all she could think about. 

“How… how’s the Kingdom doing?”

Mimosa opened her mouth, and closed it. She sighed. 

“Gadjah is in charge until a new monarch is chosen.”

Noelle wanted to ask how he was, but she couldn’t bring herself to. Of course he was hurting. His bond with Loropechka… she had never understood what it was, but one thing was sure: it was unbelievably strong. 

“Actually, the whole Spirit Guardians are a temporary council. We’re kept in the dark for most of whatever’s happening, but we’re only allies from Clover after all. This is not our place to know about that.”

“Undine…”

“...is gone. We don’t know what’s happened to the spirit.” 

What about the magic barrier? The constant protection of the elemental spirit… the country was defenseless!

“But how will the Kingdom…”

“It’s not for us to worry.”

Noelle strongly disagreed. This situation… it was all their fault… her fault. She should’ve done more. Trained more. If only she’d been stronger… 

Mimosa got to her feet as the corridor got suddenly particularly noisy. There was a bang on the door and a handful of Heart Guards entered the hospital room. 

_ Oh _ , this could not be good.

Gadjah strode towards the bed. His face was harsh, his jaw clenched, his air grave. 

“Noelle Silva of the Clover Kingdom, you will need to face the consequences of the Queen’s death. You are under arrest.”

_ What _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always dreamed to start a chapter with "shit". It's a bit OOC but my dream came true.


	2. Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is… it's longer than the first and, let's get it out of the way: Gadjah is a bit OOC (read: he’s OOC a lot)

_ You can’t arrest me. I only answer to the Clover Kingdom’s law and justice. I’m royalty.  _

There could’ve been a hundred ways to escape the questioning. Or to at least try. But she hadn't dare say a word. To be fair, she had been too exhausted to protest. 

Gadjah had started by moving a stunned Mimosa out of the way. 

_ All Clover Magic Knights are to report to Floga immediately. Do not resist. You are foreign Knights under Heart jurisdiction; we will take all necessary measures to deal with you.  _

Noelle couldn’t believe her ears when he had said that. Mimosa had an utter look of betrayal on her face. That was not the man who had trained them for the past six months, trying to make them get stronger. 

Gadjah was not himself. 

But really, who could blame him. 

Now she was sitting in a dark room. There was barely enough light for Noelle to make out her surroundings, but she preferred it this way. The darkness went easy on her headache, and she didn’t have to focus her gaze on anything. There were three people with her in the room. Two of them were guards who had helped her walk. The third person was Gadjah. 

He looked ten years older. His hair normally slicked back was disheveled, with bangs falling in front of his eyes and darkening his glare. His eyes were cold, filled with anger. He kept reaching for the scar on his jaw. 

Noelle finished her report of events. Her shaking hand went for the glass in front of her and she drank it hastily. 

“Again.”

They had been doing this for what felt like hours: Gadjah listening in silence and Noelle telling what had happened, from the moment Loropechka understood they were under attack to the moment Vanica killed the Queen. She had gone over the events many times and each time was more painful than the one before. She realized how many mistakes they had made. How many mistakes  _ she _ had made. She felt shame, bitterness, but above all… guilt. So much guilt. 

“Again.”

Noelle was exhausted. Her mind wandered to the Black Bulls hideout. Her room, so small compared to the one she’d had at the Silva castle, but so warm. She thought about her hospital bed. She didn’t care if it was a hospital bed. She just wanted to sleep.  And wake up to how the world was before. 

“I don’t think you understand the position you’re in.” Gadjah suddenly says. “Our Queen died under  _ your  _ watch. You Clover Knights have made a mess of our Kingdom. You will face the consequences of your negligence and for what you allowed to happen when we  _ trusted _ you.”

_ They trusted us. _

Noelle started retelling the events. She was on autopilot. The words came out, but she could barely understand what she was saying. Her eyelids felt heavy, so heavy, and her head… 

Her head fell forward and she jerked back up in a gasp. 

_ Stay awake. _

She kept on talking. 

She wondered how they were all doing. Surely, Floga wouldn’t be too harsh on them… she hadn’t trained with him, but Leopold had spoken highly of the Spirit Guardian, so he couldn’t be that bad. 

Her thoughts wandered naturally towards the Black Bulls. How she wished Asta was here… His stupidity was all she needed right now. To forget. To have his bright optimism around. To hear him say that they’ll pull through no matter what. He’d said it so many times. That they’d get stronger, strong enough to deal with the Dark disciples, with the Dark Triad, with the devils. That there was no limit they couldn’t surpass. 

Loropechka used to say that it’d be hard, but that they could do it. She had believed in them, in their determination, in Asta’s smiles and confidence. They had done everything to make her trust them, to make her believe. 

Noelle remembered her tears that night, when she admitted it to them for the first time. 

_ I’m scared. I don’t want to die. _

She was crying so much. Her tears had broken Noelle’s heart. Mimosa and her had pulled her into a tight hug. 

When the attack started, she had done her best to reassure Loropechka, to tell her that the knights would be fine, that she needed to focus on protecting her country. She remembered how terrified the Queen looked. How concerned she was about the safety of her people. Trust us, trust them, we  _ won’t _ go down that easily. 

We’ll protect you. We’ll save you. We’ll seal that devil. We’ll make anything and everything to achieve this. Don’t you _dare_ doubt us.

And now, she was dead.

Noelle stopped suddenly. 

_ She’s dead. _

“What?” Gadjah asked

_ Vanica cuts her throat. There’s blood everywhere. You don’t know which blood is hers, which is yours. You can’t see straight. The Queen falls. There’s a crack. You wonder what it is. You understand simultaneously. A bone.  _

“I don’t feel good.”

_ She’s lying there. Her head is at an angle that should be possible. Her eyes are wide open. Lifeless. There’s so much blood. So much blood. She’s looking at you, directly at you. It’s your fault. It’s your fault. It’s your fault.  _

_ I’m gonna be sick. _

* * *

Noelle was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall, eyes lost in the darkness of the room when Mimosa entered with Hidon. She knelt down beside her. 

“Noelle, goodness… what happened?”

“I was sick.”

She didn’t know how to say it any other way. She understood that Mimosa wasn’t talking about why she was sitting on the floor. She was asking about the questioning. About why the room was so dark. But Noelle couldn’t bring herself to talk about that.

Mimosa sighed and released her hand to get up. She faced Hidon.

“She needs rest. Can’t you postpone your questioning?”

“Our country will not  _ rest _ until culprits are convicted.”

_ Culprits _ . Noelle closed her eyes. Yes, she was a culprit. There was no denying it. She had betrayed her friend. She shouldn’t have sent Nero to get help. She should’ve gotten up. She should’ve attacked. She had enough mana for one spell, surely. She was royalty. Her mana was infinite. She could’ve. She should've. She chocked. She'd promised to keep the Queen safe. 

How many people would have to die so she can live? Her mother was so strong… if she hadn’t been pregnant with her, then maybe… maybe she could’ve fought Vanica again, she could’ve defeated the devil, lifted the curse, she could’ve lived… Loropechka would never have been cursed. 

She’d be alive.

They’d  _ both _ be alive. 

“She died because of me.”

Her heart tightened in her chest and it took all her willpower not to cry. She didn’t have the right to cry. She created this hell. She’d have to face the consequences. 

“Noelle, that’s not true.”

It was. It was very much true. Mimosa wouldn’t understand. 

_ It’s my fault. I killed her. I let her die. And I had given her so much hope… so much hope…  _

“M. Hidon, look at her. You’ll get nothing more out of her tonight. With all due respect, I think we  _ all _ need some rest.”

“That’s for M. Gadjah to decide.”

What happened after that was blurry. Noelle was helped on her feet and she remembered walking back to the hospital room. She remembered collapsing on it, closing her eyes. She thought she heard Gadjah’s voice at some point, Nero’s, maybe Luck’s. 

* * *

She woke up the next morning in a much better shape. Mimosa had been right. She needed rest. Most of her wounds had closed overnight thanks to various healing techniques that made no sense for an attack mage like her. Most importantly, her mind was back on track. It was time to assess the situation they were in. 

The others looked ungrazed,  _ thank god,  _ but they were extremely worried. Floga hadn’t told them anything. In fact, he’d kept so silent Leopold had started to believe he’d lost his tongue during the battle. Noelle learned that they had all been questioned too about their actions and their motives. The most alarming was that their grimoires and communications device had been taken away from them. The silence from the Clover Kingdom wasn’t reassuring either. Noelle tried to tell them that if Heart let them eat and talk with each other, it meant that the situation couldn’t be that bad. She only half-believed it. But she still couldn’t believe Gadjah or any of the Heart people would ever mean them any harm. 

Noelle took solace in speaking with them so naturally. They looked about as normal as they usually were. Their quirks were a bit toned down by grief, but they still smiled and talked like before.  What also lifted her spirits was realizing that they felt responsible too. She felt guilty to be relieved about this, but it was reassuring to know that she was not alone. They kept expressing regrets. How they should’ve dealt with their enemies differently so Gadjah wouldn't have had to go and help. It was something they all agreed on: if Gadjah had been there, Loropechka would’ve lived. If they’d been stronger, Loropechka would’ve lived. 

Then, she was back to questioning. The same guards as the day before were there: Toma Hidon and Sam Pheallipse. The room was a little brighter than the day before. Maybe it was an impression. Maybe it was because she felt better, because her surroundings were not spinning anymore, or because her mind was less foggy. 

She went through the events with more discernment, analysing how things went, how they could’ve gone. She elaborated on every single one of the decisions she took. She didn’t try to justify herself, she couldn’t, but she was as transparent as possible. She owed it to Gadjah. 

“So you did nothing as the Queen was in  _ that person _ ’s grasp?”

Gadjah never said Vanica’s name. He never said Loropechka’s either. It was always “The Queen” and “the devil-possessed”, or anything to make the situation less real. Noelle realized she preferred it that way. It was easier to answer. 

She shook her head. 

“No. I think I had enough mana for one last spell, but I couldn’t focus. So I… I didn’t do anything.”

The water mage wondered when he would stop. It was pretty clear she was responsible. She couldn’t protect her. She couldn’t keep her alive. She hadn’t done anything to prevent her fate after vowing she’d do everything to ensure her safety. She didn’t launch that last spell. If there was someone to blame, it was her. 

_ So just end it already. _

“And then? what happened?”

Noelle could’ve been reading her lines from a play it wouldn't have been different. There was only one way things had happened. She tried her best to look directly at Gadjah, but his frown and the fury in his eyes was too much to handle. Why was he doing this? What did he plan to do when he'll have heard the story for the hundredth time? She was halfway through explaining how Nero had gone for help when the door slammed open. 

“I’m so sorry M. Gadjah, I don’t know how he got through the magic barrier!”

_ There was no magic barrier anymore _ , Noelle thought. Undine was nowhere to be found. And the Queen was dead _. _ Noelle turned around slowly to face whoever had intruded. 

Her heart skipped a beat. 

“I am Nozel Silva, Head of House Silva and Captain of the Silver Eagles, sent by Julius Novachrono, 28th Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom and I demand you release our magic knights  _ immediately _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m always conflicted about writing a ‘weak’ Noelle because it doesn’t feel right to me. I loved her character from the start precisely because of how mentally strong she was. I mean, can you imagine being put down by your family every day, and still train and want to prove your worth? That girl is strong and hella resourceful. So I’m glad she’s got part of her wits back in the second half. 
> 
> Ngl, that one last line is so out of whatever ridiculous American blockbuster I hesitated to keep it. And then I came to peace with myself and accepted that… I’m a sucker for characters stating their names as the camera makes a dramatic close-up in low-angle shot. 
> 
> Anyway, it’s about to go down. 
> 
> I wish I could’ve focused a bit more on the rest of the Heart squad. The whole thing is written in Noelle’s pov, I feel it would've been weird to switch suddenly. But that’s what notes are for, hehehe… So! they got their coms device taken along with their grimoires, which made it pretty clear for them how grave the situation was. They are working behind the scenes to break free: Nero went in bird form and got the coms device back while Leopold and Luck were causing a ruckus (unsure whether it was part of a plan or if they just happened to be themselves for a while). Floga let them escape cause Floga’s a precious bean and he just wants everyone to get along, Clover and Heart, hand in hand, skipping happily towards brighter tomorrows. (on second thoughts, I’m glad I didn’t write this)
> 
> The next chapter is my favorite (and where I had intended to finish the fic before deciding that, well, I’d go for one more), so look forward to it and leave a comment if you have the time!


	3. Diplomacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter I was most excited about… enjoy. I had a blast writing it.

Silence followed the declaration. Noelle was certain time had frozen. Her older brother was standing in the light that entered the room from the open door and one thing was sure: he did  _ not _ look pleased. Their eyes locked for a second before he went back to glaring at Gadjah. Mimosa appeared from behind Nozel, panting. She must’ve been running. Surely she had meant to catch him before he broke into the interrogation room. 

Nozel took one step inside as Pheallipse reluctantly closed the door behind him. 

“Lady Mimosa Vermillion informed me your Queen is dead. Do accept my condolences.”

The tone was respectful, but cold. Gadjah rose slowly from his seat, keeping both his hands on the table. The tension was palpable. Noelle meant to get up too, but one glare from Gadjah was enough to glue her to the chair. 

“You have entered the Heart Kingdom territory without authorisation.”

The accusation stung like a needle. Nozel’s face remained still, unreadable. He was standing there, his cape and magic knight robe giving him an aura of power. 

“You haven’t been answering any of our calls” he stated. “You’ve been keeping our knights, among which three royals, with little to no respect for their rights. I only came here to retrieve them as a Clover representative. So, allow me to repeat myself. I demand you hand them over.”

“You are in no position to make  _ demands _ , Silva.”

Noelle flinched.  _ This is not good. _ She watched, expecting Nozel to jump at the man’s throat. But he had that ice cold look… which honestly worried her the most. 

“May I know why they’re being kept?” Nozel asked calmly

Mimosa let out a breath. But it was too soon to relax. Noelle slowly got on her feet and backed away from the chair and table. 

“We spent six months training every single one of them, only for them to make a mess of our country. One of your knights burnt down half of our National forest, another depleted our natural resources by  _ eating _ them away... and this  _ one _ let our Queen die.”

A beat. Nozel, stoic as ever, spoke after a while. 

“Sure, I will not argue about that Vermillion boy going overboard.” His irritability was palpable. Noelle wouldn’t want to be Leopold right now. “But I trust he meant to protect your people. So were all of our knights. May I dare ask how many civilian casualties there were?”

“None.” Gadjah hissed.

The ghost of a smile passed on Nozel’s lips. Briefly. Noelle understood he’d asked the question while knowing perfectly well the answer, which meant he was here to argue; she didn’t know if it was good or bad news. 

“None,” he repeated. “We sent you one of our best healers, royal representative Lady Mimosa Vermillion. I trust she’s been a great help in dealing with the aftermaths. In fact, your people gave me a warm welcome. They’re grateful. Why aren’t you?”

A beat. 

“What matters here is not how the battle played out or how our people were affected.” Gadjah said harshly. “The Queen is dead and our Protector is gone. I will not have a  _ Clover  _ representative tell me how to handle a situation he cannot even begin to understand. Take your good-for-nothing knights if you want, but this one’s staying here so she can be trialed and sentenced to what she deserves.”

Noelle shivered. She had guessed this was the ultimate goal. But hearing it out loud was a different matter. Nozel took a brief look at his sister before answering. 

“Has she caused any trouble? I apologize for my lack of knowledge,” Nozel added in a modesty that came out as cold sarcasm, “Miss Mimosa couldn’t say much before one of your  _ goons _ snatched her communications device.”

Gadjah’s eyebrow twitched. Everyone was holding their breaths. 

“She was with the Queen when that devil possessed woman attacked and she didn’t do anything to help her or to guard her as she had  _ vowed _ to.”

“Let me clarify; I wasn’t here; she was assisting Queen Loropechka as she fought Vanica of the Dark Triad and her devil, Megicula, wasn’t she?”

“Yes” Gadjah conceded

“A fight your Queen would’ve fought alone otherwise, am I right?”

“ _ I  _ would’ve been here.”

“And where were  _ you _ when your Queen died?”

Gadjah’s face crumpled. Noelle stiffened. She looked at Mimosa, silently asking for support, or a hint at what they should do to diffuse the situation, but her cousin looked as alarmed as she was. Noelle braced herself for what was to come. 

“M. Gadjah was fighting to protect our people!”

Nozel raised an eyebrow.

“You are?

“Sam Pheallipse, a Heart Guard.”

Nozel barely acknowledged the man. 

“If you were off fighting someplace else, I trust there were more enemies than Vanica Zogratis, weren’t there?” Nozel inquired

“Yes, she brought a few people with her”, Mimosa explained, “They called themselves Dark Disciples.”

“Who fought them?” Nozel asked nonchalantly 

“Our Spirit Guardians fought them fiercely.” Pheallipse said with pride

“So they were defeated? You didn’t have to leave your Queen, M. Gadjah.”

Nozel was toeing the line. Gadjah was ready to explode. If push came to shove… Noelle didn’t want to imagine what would happen. 

“Our Spirit Guardians weren’t… enough.” Pheallipse answered bitterly. “Your knights… intervened.”

There was a slim smile on Nozel’s face. Noelle feared the worst. Her mind was racing, looking for a solution or anything she could do. She couldn’t try and diffuse the situation by defending the Spirit Guardians or Gadjah. It would undermine Nozel’s authority. As the person trialed, she simply wasn’t the best choice for mediation. Anything she would try would only add fuel to the fire... She hated being so helpless. 

She stayed silent and watched as the situation unraveled before her, hoping they could find common ground. 

“So you’re telling me that  _ our _ knights helped defeat these Dark Disciples who attacked  _ your _ country. It’s not a stretch to say that your country didn’t have the firepower to defend its people from the attack, is it? And now you’re keeping the ones who helped you  _ prisoners _ when they’re needed at home… is it how you show your gratitude?”

_ Needed at home? _

“Now about your Queen’s death,” Nozel continued “I renew my condolences. She died while fighting a powerful enemy, Vanica of the Dark Triad, correct?”

“Yes” Gadjah hissed

“Considering the peaceful streets, I’d wager she was fought off...”

“Had  _ she  _ not been there… our Queen… she’d still be there…”

“Can you please call a spade a spade. Do you mean Vanica Zogratis? I trust she’s the one who killed her?”

“No! HER!”

Noelle backed away, surprised by Gadjah’s sudden screaming. Rage constricted his face. Nozel took a brief look at his sister before continuing. 

“Are you telling me a royal magic knight of the Clover kingdom who  _ volunteered  _ for this battle and, in your words,  _ vowed _ to protect your queen, killed her? You want to know what I believe? You’re grasping at straws. Your country is in turmoil and you need a culprit so you can move on. But as you can’t  _ catch _ the person who  _ actually  _ killed your queen, Vanica Zogratis, let alone defeat her, you’re putting the blame on someone within your reach. Am I wrong?”

For an instant, Noelle was afraid Gadjah would completely lose it. Tension moved up a notch, and then finally, the Spirit Guardian talked. 

“Noelle Silva’s role in the Queen’s death is something we are trying to uncover.” he said calmly. “I would appreciate you stepping out and letting the Heart Kingdom continue this investigation.”

“Yes,” a smug Hidon added, “Clover royalty has no right here! Go back home,  _ Silva. _ ”

Nozel sighed, ignoring completely the Heart Guard’s words. 

“I was expecting you’d understand without me going at such lengths,  _ Gadjah _ , but it seems I don’t have a choice.”

Noelle didn’t like this tone. It was the same rational, logic-ridden tone he’d had when he’d told her she didn’t need to take an exam she’d fail anyway. 

“I will not go back without our knights. You have no right to keep them locked up. According to the Agreement between Heart and Clover, no representative of either the King or Wizard King, which, for your information, Magic Knights are, can be subjected to an investigation without either one of them being informed.” 

“And even if it’s not about him being informed,” Nozel kept on as Hidon looked ready to say something, “no questioning or investigation on a magic knight can occur without either the Wizard King or an appointed representative being  _ present _ . You did  _ not _ contact our Wizard King. Worse, you  _ ignored _ his calls. This is a breach on our Agreement, and as the Wizard King’s current representative, I am in my right to demand they’re freed.”

“Now, about the royals you’ve kept, as the Head of House Silva, I will take every measure necessary to get my family member back. As for Lord Leopold Vermillion and Lady Mimosa Vermillion, I advise you let them go before the Head of House Vermillion gets word about what’s happening here. I can assure you they will  _ not _ be pleased. You’ve chosen the wrong scapegoats, Gadjah.”

It was escalating. Noelle wasn’t optimistic they could keep their cool indefinitely. Hidon’s neck vein was showing. 

“Your royalty has no place in Heart. Here, you’re just a cocky foreign citizen.” Gadjah said harshly. “The Queen is dead. This is force majeure. In such a situation, I am allowed to deal with  _ foreigners _ and  _ intruders _ however I please.  _ You  _ step out right now or I’ll make you.”

Noelle preemptively reached for her grimoire. Then she remembered… she didn’t have her grimoire.  _ If they had to fight _ … she didn’t want to fight. And they would  _ not _ fight their allies... but Nozel… Nozel might. Nozel would. And there would be no way to stop him. 

“Listen to me,  _ Gadjah.  _ I don’t think you understand your position. You are nothing but a sink plug until a new monarch is appointed; you may not and  _ will not  _ overrule an agreement passed between  _ actual  _ rulers. And don’t call upon force majeure or you’ll be the one I’ll put on trial. We’ll see who’ll win this.”

Mimosa let out a small gasp. They kept threatening each other now. 

“Our knights went to help you,” Nozel continued calmly. “Noelle of the House Silva lent you her strength to protect your country and your Queen. She put her life on the line to defeat Vanica Zogratis and her devil. She may have failed, but your people are safe because of her and because of our Knights. So I’ll ask you this once more before taking action. Release our Magic Knights  _ this instant _ .”

Gadjah chuckled. Noelle watched, wide-eyed, as he slowly regained his composure. Oh, this was not good. The face he was making… it was pain, anger, and despair, all mixed into one constricted face. His hand rested on the scar on his jaw. 

“That’s funny you of all people would tell me that. She lent us her strength? What ‘strength’ was this? Aren’t you  _ Silvas _ powerless when facing devils and their curses?”

There was a sudden movement, a white and blue swoosh that Noelle registered to be a cape, his cape, as he closed the distance between him and Gadjah. Nozel’s crushing mana was all over the place, putting pressure on all of them, making the air scarce.

_ But what had he just s…  _

A ringtone. Nozel was seething, glaring at Gadjah, his arm half-raised. There was a beat. No one moved. Noelle couldn't hear anyone breathing, only that joyful ringtone. 

At last, Nozel took a step back and looked for his communications device. Noelle started breathing again. 

“Ah! Nozel-kun. I trust you’ve arrived? How is the situation in Heart?”

_ The Wizard King _ . His timing was always perfect. Saved by the bell. Nozel was still fuming. Noelle swore she’d never seen him with an anger this raw before. His jaw was clenched tight and it seemed to take him every bit of strength to loosen it. This sight scared her. 

“I’ve arrived. The Heart Queen  _ representative _ refuses to release our knights.” he hissed

He looked like he wanted to add something, but refrained. Noelle watched as his fist slowly unclenched. 

“Nozel-kun, did you give him my letter? Good afternoon, Gadjah. Please accept my sincerest condolences. Do tell us if there is anything we can do.”

Gadjah stopped glaring at Nozel to bow courtly to the Wizard King. The situation seemed under control. For now. The captain of the Silver Eagles took out an envelope and gave it reluctantly to Gadjah. 

“What’s this?”

“A request.” Julius states. “But if I may, I can explain it to you.”

Gadjah nodded, putting the letter on the table. He crossed his arms, listening. 

“The Clover Kingdom was attacked by Spade, just like you.”

_ What? _

“We will launch an operation in two days to march on Spade and prevent a disastrous scenario. Spade’s plan would put in grave danger our whole continent. As long time friends and allies, I ask for Heart’s collaboration in this operation. The Dark Triad needs to be stopped and we need your strength to do so.”

It was smart, Noelle realized. Julius wasn’t talking about letting them go. He was one step ahead already, and by asking for his collaboration, he offered Vanica on a silver plate. A way for revenge.

“We have a national funeral to organize, Julius, and a new monarch to find. I will not even mention reconstruction. And as your…  _ underling  _ has pointed out” Nozel glared at him so bad Noelle thought he was going to launch a spell, “Heart’s  _ flimsy _ firepower would not be of much use to you. We’d rather sort out our internal affairs before thinking about heading out.”

Julius’ smile did not fade. 

“Let me be clearer, Gadjah-kun. We are going to Spade to fight the Dark Triad and get back what’s  _ ours _ . Don’t you want to go?”

_ Wait a minute… Take back what’s ours? _

“What do you want me to get back? There’s nothing for me in Spade. The Queen is dead.”

“What about revenge? Don’t you want to avenge her? Don’t you want to tell your people that the person who terrorized them and killed their Queen will no longer come back?”

There was a silence. The tension in the room made the air unbreathable. 

“This is no time to fight between ourselves.” Julius added at last. “We need to unite and defeat these devils once and for all. We will use the two days we have to train our troops and get them as ready as we can in such short a time. Heart mages are welcome to participate in our training.”

Noelle looked at Gadjah. He seemed to be considering his options. Finally, he let out a sigh.

“I’ll let your knights go on one condition.”

Noelle stiffened.

“You let me fight that devil-possessed assassin.”

Julius was still smiling. 

“Of course. We’ll need all the help we can get. If you could mobilize some of your healers, it would be great. Do I have your word?”

“Yes. I’ll grant Clover with the best fighters and healers we have and… return the favour. So we’ll be on equal footing.”

Noelle let out a long relieved breath as Julius hung up. They’d pulled through. 

“You can go get your knights” Gadjah told Nozel.

The silver-haired mage nodded politely before ordering everyone out of the room. 

Noelle and Mimosa obeyed, unsure. She had barely recognized her brother just a while ago as he looked ready to come to blows with Gadjah. But she trusted he wouldn’t do anything stupid now that Julius had pacified the situation. 

* * *

They had gathered the rest of the knights, got their grimoires and devices back and boarded a boat back to the Clover Kingdom. Now they were all relaxing while they could on the deck. All but Nozel. The mage was nowhere to be found. 

Noelle yawned as discreetly as she could and took this as a sign to go get some sleep. This sounded like a good idea, all the more as they would be back to fighting in two days. She’d need to take all the rest she could. 

As she climbed down the stairs, she found her brother, leaning arms crossed against the wooden wall of a cabin. He looked calmer, almost back to his usual self. 

They stared at each other for a while. Their meetings were always awkward, but this one might’ve been the most awkward they’d had in a while. 

“Hum… thanks for coming and getting us.”

“Wizard King’s order.” Nozel answered.

Noelle wasn’t sure if she should apologize for accepting her arrest. She knew the law. Every royal was instructed with it from a young age. But she had forgotten it, completely. Maybe deep down, she wanted this investigation. Maybe deep down, she needed to be treated as a culprit. Maybe it was that guilt that wouldn’t leave her. 

“How… are you feeling?”

Noelle opened her mouth to answer, then closed it. Was it… concern? Mimosa might’ve told him about her injuries. 

“I’m fine. Mimosa healed me.”

He stared at her, blankly. He then looked away. 

“I, hum… I know you’d grown… close. That Queen and you, I mean.”

A beat. 

“I’m sorry for what happened.”

Noelle forced a smile.

“Thank you.”

He said nothing, then sighed. 

“One, hum… one last thing… That Gadjah… he seemed to know about… devils, and… about our  _ family _ too. You… hum… you know you…  _ can’t  _ talk about it, right?”

Noelle was taken aback. Surely he meant their mother’s curse.

“I know.”

“You didn’t  _ talk _ about it?”

“I didn’t.”

He scrutinized her as if trying and telling if she was lying. 

“You’re not… you know...?”

_ Cursed? _

“I’m fine. He… probably learned it from Loropechka. She, uh, she didn’t learn it from me either. I didn’t talk about it. I’ve never talked about it.”

Nozel looked away and coughed a little. 

“Alright, then. I’ll be up on the deck.”

He passed her, then stopped again.

“You rest.”

It felt like an order. Noelle watched as he climbed up the stairs. She’d never understand him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold of me to assume there are laws and agreements in the Black Clover universe. 
> 
> I had pictured the whole bout between Nozel and Gadjah as a Phoenix Wright thingy. It turned more into a messy ego fight lmao. Some OOC apologies: Gadjah is still OOC a lot. But the man just lost Loropechka so… I guess he’s just losing his mind, the man’s hurting. Nozel talks an awful lot in the chapter so I guess he could be OOC too,   
> I honestly don’t know who that man is, I don’t know if Nozel himself knows who he is.
> 
> There are three hidden jokes in this chapter. One is onomastics, another is country-based, the last one is a reference to that one Leopold meme. Dunno if you can find them, heehhehe. 
> 
> There should be one more chapter… I had intended to finish the fic here, but it doesn’t feel… right. This is my first time writing a canon divergence and I want to tie it up to canon so bad imma do another chapter just to get it back on canon track. As much as I can. In the end, this is just a slight canon divergence (‘slight canon divergence’ = a monarch foochin dies + Julius sends maybe the least diplomatic fellow he could find), and I still want to stay as close as possible to the manga. 
> 
> Anyway, we’re going back to Clover next time. Rejoice.


	4. Stronger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter! And now… we’re back to Clover and catching up to canon.

“They’re making steady progress.”

Noelle jumps, startled by Loropechka’s voice. She calms down immediately, laughing it off, as the Queen sits down next to her. 

“They’re even training at night.” Noelle remarks. “They’d better be!”

Silence settles. Noelle loves the silence in the Heart Kingdom, especially at night. It’s relaxing and a nice change to the constant racket at the Black Bulls hideout. She’s used to squad members chasing each other in resonating corridors, fighting and shouting, stray spells whizzing past her without a notice. At night, she needed to bang on the walls so they would quiet down. More often than not, they wouldn’t. But she still preferred this to the deafening silence of her immense castle. 

Loropechka and her are both watching as Luck launches a rune spell and Noelle gasps as this might be the most powerful he’s managed to produce since they’ve arrived. Yes, they are making progress but… 

“We’re still not strong enough.” Noelle remarks as Gadjah brushes the spell off like it’s nothing. 

“No, but… if there’s one thing I’ve learned from you all is that Clover knights grow exponentially stronger in actual combat.”

Noelle laughs a little. She was not wrong on that. All her spells had always come to her when facing a situation. Training was never enough. 

“Can I ask you a question?” the Queen says

Noelle turns to face her, a puzzled look on her face. It’s rare she’d announce it beforehand; she’s so blunt. Loropechka is smiling gently, so Noelle tells her to go ahead.

“Would you happen to know Acier Silva?”

It feels weird to hear someone say her name. It feels even weirder to hear Loropechka, of all people, say it. Sure, she knew about Yami for example, or other Clover knights, but Noelle never thought her knowledge was this wide. Her mind goes blank, to the point she can’t even say a word. 

“I came across her when researching for our upcoming fight… you look so similar, I thought she might be a parent of yours.”

“Yes, she was my mother.”

There it goes. Noelle forces her gaze on her squadmates in front of her. 

“I… never knew her. They told me she died when giving birth to me but it turned out…”

“Don’t say it. I know”

Noelle sighs. It’s so hard, not to be able to talk about it. She doesn’t know how Nozel managed all these years. 

“I’m sorry” Noelle says

“Why?”

Noelle thought she could hide it. The reason why she came here in the first place. It turns out she can’t. It feels to her like she’s lying to Loropechka. She needs to get it off her chest. 

“It’s about my reasons to fight Vanica Zogratis… You know that part of it is to help Asta, because he’s facing the death penalty and we need to prove his innocence. Part of it is to save you, because you’re a kind person, a great Queen, because your country needs you and because you deserve to live a long, peaceful life. But part of it… probably most of it... is to avenge my mother. I’m the last thing she left and— I know it’s selfish, especially since you’re the one who’s suffering right now, and all of this is in the past— but… I owe it to her.”

Noelle breathes in. “She was my mother.”

Loropechka stares at her. She smiles softly and puts her glasses back in place.

“Don’t apologize.”

Noelle feels a hundred times lighter. She cracks a weak, teary smile. 

“Noelle, one last thing…”

* * *

“Wake up, we’re here.”

Mimosa was looking at her, smiling gently. Noelle sat up and took a look at her surroundings. Oh, right. The boat back to Clover. They had arrived. She’d slept so soundly the whole way back… 

“I guess we’re off to report to our captains.” Noelle said

She pictured Yami being disappointed in her and her heart sank. She didn’t feel like going back to the base, all of a sudden. 

“Lord Nozel told us we’d all be reporting to the Wizard King first.”

Noelle frowned, puzzled. Summoned by the Wizard King, directly, even before facing their captains? Then it struck her. A  _ Queen _ had died. They hadn’t just failed a mission. They had failed a country. 

Noelle wanted to go back to sleep. 

* * *

  
  


The silence was heavy among them as they reached the Royal Capital. The city looked fairly normal to her. She had expected casualties, rubbles all over the place and at least a few Magic Knights on patrol. But the capital was calm. It barely looked like they’d been under attack. Strange. 

Still, it felt good to be home. 

They reached the Wizard King’s quarters. Noelle was shocked to see him so tired. Whatever had happened was not good news. She gave one last absent-minded report and she watched as his face slowly crumbled. He gave one sorry sigh at the end of the report.

Then, Julius broke it to them. 

Both the Captain of the Golden Dawn and the Black Bulls were taken. They were attacked by two members of the Dark Triad and some Dark Disciples. They would be used to open some sort of devil portal that would let the devils loose on earth. Each level of the Qliphoth tree was guarded by devils of ridiculous strength. Even more powerful than the Triad members. They had two days to get to them. They were having one last meeting to coordinate their efforts that night. As for them, they were going to be sent for training in a place called Elysia with the Elves the following morning. 

“You’re all free to go. Rest up tonight, you’re leaving tomorrow at dawn.”

And thus, they were out. 

Leopold left first. Mimosa was restless and left right after him. That was understandable, considering Julius had mentioned her squad to have suffered considerable casualties. Noelle told Luck and Charmy to go first, that she’d catch up later. They didn’t ask questions. And she was grateful for that. 

Noelle couldn’t focus on anything at the moment. She’d barely grasped what Julius had said. It was unreal. It was so unreal. It was  _ impossible _ . Captain Yami and Captain Vengeance were among the strongest captains, there was no way they’d lose. But it was the Dark Triad. Their devils. Loropechka, Nero and herself had struggled against Vanica despite having a plan. She couldn’t even imagine how a surprise attack must have hit. And in two days, they’d be back at it? They’d have to do in two days what six months couldn’t do… 

This situation was a nightmare. They had barely escaped one hell that they were thrown into another. She needed time to process everything, every single piece of information. But she didn’t have time. In two days, they’d be marching into Spade and fighting again. They would leave in the morning to train with the  _ Elves _ , their former enemies… and former allies too. 

None of this made any sense. 

She tried and regulated her breathing. The Elves were stronger than them. They’d teach them some ultimate technique that would make them stronger. 

They needed to get stronger.

At least, her squadmates were all fine. She clung to this thought as much as she could. Gauche had been saved. Asta was okay and back to training. 

All they had to do now was get stronger. 

“Hey! The others already left?”

Noelle jumped on her feet, startled, then breathed out.  _ Asta _ . 

“The Wizard King told me you’d just left, I thought I could catch you…”

He looked beaten up. Badly. His right arm was entirely black. It was as if he was in demon form… except he wasn’t. He was smiling, but it felt forced. It reminded her of that fake smile he kept flashing after the Underwater Temple battle against Vetto. 

“You’re okay?” Asta asked

_ Of course. I’m strong. We’re all strong.  _

“Yeah. You?” She answered

She didn’t even try to put the right tone. Asta’s fake smile faded. There was a silent understanding.  _ No need to dwell on this.  _

“I heard about Loropechka… I should’ve been there. It’s not fair.”

“If you hadn’t been here, who knows what would’ve happened to the rest of the Bulls.”

A beat. 

“Still, I said I’d protect her, and the kingdom too, but I wasn’t even…”

“You did what you had to do.” She cuts him. “You did everything you could. We all did...”

It felt so strange, recomforting him. It felt so strange, telling him the words she kept repeating to herself so she could move on. It felt so very strange to have this conversation with Asta of all people. He was the one who lifted her up, usually. 

“What are you doing here anyway?” Noelle asked

Asta seemed surprised, then smiled. 

“I’m training with our Vice Captain, Nacht! Well, he’s at the meeting right now, but he’s teaching me stuff about the devil in my grimoire. I don’t really understand it, though.”

A  _ Vice Captain _ ? They had a Vice Captain? Since  _ when _ ? 

“You should head back to the base,” Asta says. “They couldn’t reach any of you so they’ve been worried, you know. I wish I could go back, but Nacht is training me day in and day out… tell them I said hi!”

She wanted to go back. She wanted it so much. Vanessa, Finral, Grey… To see them all… But she… she couldn’t bring herself to leave him here on his own. She didn’t want to leave like that. She knows he’s strong. But she can’t help but think about when he’d lost his arms. He’d been hurting more than he showed. 

She could still head back later. 

“Luck and Charmy went back already. I’m going to stay for a while.”

He smiled. A true, genuine smile of his.

“I’m not doing it for you, you know? Royals need to be fashionably late.”

Upon uttering these sentences, she decided that she should stay silent. 

“Anyway! I’m glad you’re ok.” he said after a while

Under other circumstances, she probably would’ve been flustered. She would’ve panicked and sent him flying or something. But she was tired of it all. She was so relieved he was okay too. And the other Bulls too. She couldn’t bring herself to say it to his face, though. So she just nodded. 

“We’re leaving tomorrow!” she said hastily to change the subject. “Training with the Elves.”

“The Elves? So cool! I wanna come!”

“Aren’t you training with our Vice Captain?”

“Oh, you’re right.”

A beat. She wanted to ask some more about that ‘Nacht’, but knowing the rest of the Bulls, he could only be a weirdo. There was only so much unsettling information she could handle right now. 

“We’re getting him back.”

Noelle turned to him, surprised by the seriousness of his tone. 

“Captain Yami, and the Golden Dawn captain too. And we’re getting that Dark Triad too. What they want to do… what they’ve done… to Loropechka, to Gauche, to Yami, to the Golden Dawn members… We’ll… we’ll make them pay. We won’t stop until we make them pay.”

Noelle’s heart skipped a beat as Asta’s words echoed Vanica’s and her mother’s. She thinks back about that night, when Loropechka had learned about her intentions, her motivations. 

_ “Noelle, one last thing…” _

_ She pauses and Noelle stiffens a little.  _

_ “I am glad we can fight all together. I’m grateful I met all of you. I’m not only fighting for myself or my country anymore. I’m also fighting for Asta, and for you. I would be satisfied if even one of your objectives were met.” _

Noelle smiles. 

“We have two days to make it. Two days to get stronger;” she says. “This time, we don’t fail.”

Asta raises his hand, a wide smile on his lips. He’s offering her, a royal, a fist bump. She’s taken aback by this familiarity. Then again, it’s Asta. She can’t help but smile as their fists connect. 

“This time for sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am NOT throwing some random Astelle for the sake of throwing in some random Astelle… ok, I might be. About that ending, I can barely picture Noelle fistbumping anyone, but ah, it’s a fanfic, who cares. Everyone is already acting out of character anyway!
> 
> Yuno was originally planned to be in the talk and I really wanted a tripartite first bump, but I kept hitting walls. I found no good excuse to have him ditch the captain meeting to meet up with Asta and Noelle for a Light Triad talk and it sucks. Their schedules simply never matched, haha… busy magic knights they are. 
> 
> Yessss, Heart gets off the hook quite easily. I mean, locking up their own allies, what kind of attitude is that? Plus, locking up three royals? Ha, if the King knew. But yeah, seeing how Julius forgave Patri, and knowing that they’d need Gadjah to keep cordial relations with Heart, I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch… As far as Clover is concerned, only Julius and some captains know about the incident; the King doesn’t; so as long as he explains to his knights why he won’t take any serious action against Heart, it should be cool. I guess. I don’t have a degree in international relations, nor do I have one in law… and I’m very sorry for that, it could’ve helped making the whole thing more realistic!
> 
> Anyway, I'll stop ranting (these rants grew longer and longer as the story went haha) and just THANK YOU again for reading... I hope you enjoyed the fic. Next chapter is a bonus because... I felt like writing one silly little bonus. Look forward to it!


	5. Bonus: Petit Clover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if Julius had sent anyone else but Nozel to take back the knights?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This stupid idea came to me in the shower so it’s automatically genius.

**FUEGOLEON**

Gadjah: And your knight burnt half of our national forest!

Fuegoleon:  _ Leopold _ . 

Leopold: ...yes?

Fuegoleon: Good job, my brother.

_ A proud brother _

  
  


**CHARLOTTE**

Charlotte: I’m taking back the women, thank you. You can keep the men, we have no use for them. Goodbye.

_ A select few _

  
  


**MARX**

Marx: Please, I’m begging you. Let them go. I need to get back to Clover as soon as possible. Who knows what Julius is doing right now, where he’s off wandering in these troubled times... You have no idea how it is to deal with him.

Gadjah: Actually…

*Ten minutes later*

Gadjah: And then she fell on her face and broke her spare glasses. So I had to get the spare of the spare. And the officials were coming! 

Marx: Julius once ditched an important meeting to go spy on a magic knights examination… I had to stall them! Of course they wouldn’t listen to me…

_ Bonding over their hopeless bosses _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this is the last "chapter".   
> I hope you enjoyed the fic! 
> 
> I also wanted to take a few lines to thank you (I don’t know if you’re even reading my end-of-chapter rants, or if you're even reading bonus chapters, but here we are). It’s nice to see you’re liking the fic and it’s always a pleasure to read your comments.
> 
> Until next time!


End file.
